In the first part of this series of blog posts from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, we were discussing what characteristics were important for your family law attorney to embody. While I would not say that the five characteristics listed are the most important or the only characteristics you need look out for, I would argue that they are very important and worth looking into.
There’s the tough part though. How do you look into whether or not the attorney you’re meeting with has those characteristics? I mean, you’re a homemaker, or an accountant, or a teacher, etc. You don’t have the opportunity (or misfortune) to rub elbows with lawyers every day. How can you identify these character traits in a short consultation?
My advice would be to key in on the following when speaking with a family law attorney. Remember: the attorney you are meeting with should be eager to speak with you about their case, almost like a salesperson would be at a retail store. After all, he or she is selling themselves and their business to you like anyone else in the marketplace trying to attract the dollars in your pocket to their business. What I mean by that is the attorney shouldn’t be coy or reserved in the consultation and if he or she are I would probably not feel all that confident in them based on that alone.
Experience
This one is simple enough and can be done prior to a consultation. There is no substitute for experience in the law, in medicine or any other field. You don’t know what you don’t know and what you don’t know can hurt you. Prior to a consultation with a family law attorney it is wise to review their website to look at the level of experience their office has in handling divorce cases. During the consultation you can ask the lawyer questions based on your own circumstances. Has the lawyer dealt with “insert situation X here”? How did it play out? Was the lawyer able to achieve the goals of that specific client? Why or why not?
Hiring an experienced attorney does not mean finding the oldest lawyer in town and hiring him or her just because they’ve been around a block or two. What I mean by experience being important is that through experience working with clients, judges and opposing counsel an attorney is able to hone all the characteristics that I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post as being so important.
The attorney’s level of experience that is necessary for you to hire him or her is up to you. It’s a completely subjective judgment. One year of experience? Three years? Five years? That part if up to you to determine. I’m here to tell you that an experienced lawyer is more likely to have those positive characteristics than an inexperienced attorney.
Size of law office
Hiring an attorney who works out of a larger law office can be an extremely good thing for your case. For one, attorneys at bigger offices have more staff to assist him or her with working on your case and more resources with which to prepare. If you have a question about your case and you’ve hired an attorney who works out of a small office or with nobody else but a receptionist, you will find that getting a hold of your attorney can be quite difficult. This doesn’t mean that attorneys that work alone or with a partner aren’t as good as lawyers that work with a larger team of support staff and attorneys. The point I’m trying to make is that you will need to communicate frequently with your family law attorney and having a lawyer with a support staff available to listen to your questions and update you on your case is important.
Actually being a family law attorney
Many attorneys practice in the field of family law without actually considering themselves family law attorneys. Again, this isn’t a bad thing to diversify yourself (from the lawyer’s perspective). From a client’s perspective, you should be able to feel like your attorney has been down this road before with previous clients and is confident in choosing which direction to take your case and how to arrive at your end goals.
Family laws in Texas are very specific and require a great deal of experience and training to be effective in advocating for clients based on those laws. If you read through the attorney’s website and see that he or she practice in other areas of the law I would ask them about that. It could be that they practice 90% in family law and dabble in the other areas. Or it could be the reverse- that they dabble in family law and their focus is in business transactions, personal injury, etc. You can find effective attorneys all over the place but when your family and your livelihood is at stake you would be best served to hire an attorney who focuses on the family.
You have some “Do’s” but what about the “Don’ts”?
The first two blog articles from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC on the subject of hiring a family law attorney have centered around advice that we believe you should implement when meeting with attorneys. What about some tips on what you should not do when meeting with an attorney during a consultation? Tune in tomorrow for advice on that subject and for the conclusion on this particular series of blog posts.
If you have questions on anything you’ve read in this blog post please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today. We offer free of chargeconsultations six days a week where you questions can be answered in full by a licensed family law attorney. From Baytown to Katy and all points in between we represent southeast Texas families and would be honored to do the same for you and yours.
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Other Articles you may be interested in:
- Tips for hiring a divorce attorney in Texas
- Tips for hiring a divorce attorney in Texas, Part Three
- Hiring a Divorce or Family Lawyer in Spring, Texas
- Why do divorces cost so much in Texas?
- How Much Will My Texas Divorce Cost?
- 8 Tips for Reducing the Cost of a Divorce in Texas
- $300 Divorce Cost a Man $100,000 in Texas
- Low cost and affordable divorces, attorneys, websites and divorce Costs in Texas
- 6 things You Need to Know Before You File for Divorce in Texas
- SUCH AN EASY DIVORCE? THAT HUSBAND MAY LOSE HIS HOUSE!
Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Spring Divorce Lawyer
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it's important to speak with a Spring, TX Divorce Lawyer right away to protect your rights.
A divorce lawyer in Spring TX is skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC handles Divorce cases in Spring, Texas, Cypress, Spring, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, Houston, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County and Waller County.
